Massage Prices.

[Old Croc]

... Not that I ever even go, as my wife is certified in Thai massage. She learned from some of her friends ......

Lol, that does not sound like "certified" to me

My wife is spa trainer in one of the top-spa's on the island and she often gets new students who worked in these massage parlors. She started out there herself years ago. They learn the job from another massage lady who learned from another etc. They never had a proper training. Training time is limited to just a few hours and then it's time to earn money. Not like the top spa's where they go through 4 month of tough training, including theory. And if not good enough, they are out. The products (eg oil) used in the cheap parlors are quite often of debatable quality (cheap cheap) and may be harmful to your skin if used often.

Find the massage parlors used by the locals and stay away from any of those tourist traps in the main areas... They more often than not, have no clue what they are doing. It may feel relaxing, but a proper massage? Nope. 300 baht is still a bargain, but you get what you pay for

As stated, most massage ladies are trained by others, but it is possible to be certified (gain a certificate) by attending courses at one of the training facilities. (The library near Patong Temple, the big training building in 300 Pee rd are a couple that come to mind)

You don't have to pay a fortune in a big fancy day spa to get an excellent massage. Many of the smaller, established shops have very good staff. Don't go to one where the girlies are all in their twenties with matching mini skirts (unless you are looking for something else). Find a shop where the ladies are in their late 30s or 40s to get a good, experienced massage. Some have been doing it for decades and are excellent. Ask to see certificates if you want, many shops insist their staff have them.

Virtually all shops buy their massage oils from BeautyLand, although some buy cheaper oils than others. You won't be poisoned by them.

[maipompui]

Monthy salary for a person who does massage is somewhere around 7-10Kbaht. That's about 300B/day and maybe 30B/hour. Tips excluded.

I think you'll find that many places pay up to 50% commissions to the staff for each massage. Yet other places also include accommodation for staff. The 7-10k is often just the base salary.

Unfortunately not, 7-10 K is the total. Base salary would be more like 3-4 K.

I dont believe that any shops pay a 'base salary' The ladies are on usually 50% commission so if they work 8 hours in a shop that charges 300 baht /hour..they lady gets 1200 baht....fine in the high season, but in the low they can often not have a customer days at a time...Sitting at the shop 12 hours and zero income..

To add insult to injury a lady i know here in C/M used to work in the downstairs massage shop in Christin Massage, told me that even tho you have no retainer/base salary. if you want to take an extra day off outside of your alloted 3 days per month..a "'fine"' of 2000 is taken out of your fortnightly payment!!!So they keep you there on no work-no income policy, but if you want a day off you are fined 2000 baht!!Disgusting IMO.

She also initially worked in some smaller shops and all staff are expected to on a roster system come in 2 hours early to clean and prep the shop...gratis!!

[stevenl]

Monthy salary for a person who does massage is somewhere around 7-10Kbaht. That's about 300B/day and maybe 30B/hour. Tips excluded.

I think you'll find that many places pay up to 50% commissions to the staff for each massage. Yet other places also include accommodation for staff. The 7-10k is often just the base salary.

Unfortunately not, 7-10 K is the total. Base salary would be more like 3-4 K.

I dont believe that any shops pay a 'base salary' The ladies are on usually 50% commission so if they work 8 hours in a shop that charges 300 baht /hour..they lady gets 1200 baht....fine in the high season, but in the low they can often not have a customer days at a time...Sitting at the shop 12 hours and zero income..

To add insult to injury a lady i know here in C/M used to work in the downstairs massage shop in Christin Massage, told me that even tho you have no retainer/base salary. if you want to take an extra day off outside of your alloted 3 days per month..a "'fine"' of 2000 is taken out of your fortnightly payment!!!So they keep you there on no work-no income policy, but if you want a day off you are fined 2000 baht!!Disgusting IMO.

She also initially worked in some smaller shops and all staff are expected to on a roster system come in 2 hours early to clean and prep the shop...gratis!!

Well, that is called a base salary with commissions.

And they would love to work 8 hours a day, but normally just hang around. So all in all a salary of appx. 8,000 Baht is quite common. Not including tips and happy endings.

[maipompui]

stevenl

Sorry i'm having probs replying directly..

Not sure myself, but to me a base salary implies that even if you do not actually work ie massage a customer..you still get paid; because you are actually at the place of work as required for the 12 hours required.[ same as a retainer i figure?]No?Correct me if i'm wrong. Because in fact.If for eg a lady turns up every day for work for 1 month and gets no customers, she gets no money at all.

And yes they would love to work 8 hours a day, but rarely do...that was just a figure i used as an eg.

My friend told me that in fact it would be near impossible to actually thai massage 8 hours per day ..regularly because of the extreme physical effort required...remembering that most proficient thai masseuers would be 30-40years old..

Your figure of 8000 baht is on the money also, but only if averaged out over the year...many months in low season, under 3000baht /month..

[stevenl]

Seems we are saying the same thing, but in slightly different languages

[Old Croc]

In my experience the ladies are paid a fee per customer. Usually 110 baht. The rest goes to the shop.

If they get 6-7 customers a day each they are usually happy.

We often used to provide meals for the staff and also paid for a room for some of them to live in. Later, we made arrangements for 1 or 2 to live in the shop. There were some problems with these arrangements.

[maipompui]

Seems we are saying the same thing, but in slightly different languages

Great....

[Jimi007]

... Not that I ever even go, as my wife is certified in Thai massage. She learned from some of her friends ......

Lol, that does not sound like "certified" to me

My wife is spa trainer in one of the top-spa's on the island and she often gets new students who worked in these massage parlors. She started out there herself years ago. They learn the job from another massage lady who learned from another etc. They never had a proper training. Training time is limited to just a few hours and then it's time to earn money. Not like the top spa's where they go through 4 month of tough training, including theory. And if not good enough, they are out. The products (eg oil) used in the cheap parlors are quite often of debatable quality (cheap cheap) and may be harmful to your skin if used often.

Find the massage parlors used by the locals and stay away from any of those tourist traps in the main areas... They more often than not, have no clue what they are doing. It may feel relaxing, but a proper massage? Nope. 300 baht is still a bargain, but you get what you pay for

Maybe funny to you. The older woman who taught her over months, was trained at Wat Po. My wife has never work in a massage place and making money isn't even in the equation. The oil she uses is certified organic coconut oil...

[starkey_rich]

... Not that I ever even go, as my wife is certified in Thai massage. She learned from some of her friends ......

Lol, that does not sound like "certified" to me

My wife is spa trainer in one of the top-spa's on the island and she often gets new students who worked in these massage parlors. She started out there herself years ago. They learn the job from another massage lady who learned from another etc. They never had a proper training. Training time is limited to just a few hours and then it's time to earn money. Not like the top spa's where they go through 4 month of tough training, including theory. And if not good enough, they are out. The products (eg oil) used in the cheap parlors are quite often of debatable quality (cheap cheap) and may be harmful to your skin if used often.

Find the massage parlors used by the locals and stay away from any of those tourist traps in the main areas... They more often than not, have no clue what they are doing. It may feel relaxing, but a proper massage? Nope. 300 baht is still a bargain, but you get what you pay for

Maybe funny to you. The older woman who taught her over months, was trained at Wat Po. My wife has never work in a massage place and making money isn't even in the equation. The oil she uses is certified organic coconut oil...

So it's the oil she use's that is certfied then.

[Jimi007]

... Not that I ever even go, as my wife is certified in Thai massage. She learned from some of her friends ......

Lol, that does not sound like "certified" to me

My wife is spa trainer in one of the top-spa's on the island and she often gets new students who worked in these massage parlors. She started out there herself years ago. They learn the job from another massage lady who learned from another etc. They never had a proper training. Training time is limited to just a few hours and then it's time to earn money. Not like the top spa's where they go through 4 month of tough training, including theory. And if not good enough, they are out. The products (eg oil) used in the cheap parlors are quite often of debatable quality (cheap cheap) and may be harmful to your skin if used often.

Find the massage parlors used by the locals and stay away from any of those tourist traps in the main areas... They more often than not, have no clue what they are doing. It may feel relaxing, but a proper massage? Nope. 300 baht is still a bargain, but you get what you pay for

Maybe funny to you. The older woman who taught her over months, was trained at Wat Po. My wife has never work in a massage place and making money isn't even in the equation. The oil she uses is certified organic coconut oil...

So it's the oil she use's that is certfied then.

Brilliant...

[harleyclarkey]

Speechless!!!!! 6 quid for a massage <deleted>......some people are just never satisfied, same as bartering over 20 baht for a T-shirt.....get a freakin life!!!!

Read my post first before replying!

And check out my reply #20.

Edited February 25, 2012 by harleyclarkey

[harleyclarkey]

Currently in the South at Hat Yai. Town centre massage prices here, with most customers being the considerable numbers of Thai and other Asian visitors, seem to have held steady for some time at 200 Bht/hr (in some cases, such as in the hotels, maybe 250 Bht/hr). Very few western visitors here and lots of massage places jostling for business, all of which keeps the lid on prices. I don't have the answer to the OP's question about Phuket, but I suspect that the western expats who must make up the bulk of the customers in Phuket just represent a soft target if the massage parlour operators want to collude in moving prices up.

Yes Filer....it seems the price jacked up by up to 100% within a matter of months. As replied here it seems there was a meeting and an increase ordered for all shops.

I just wonder has this anything to do with the huge influx of new Russians. For instance Europeans were the top tourists for years and just maybe the price held. It is too much of a coincidence that the price jacked with the arrival of "new" money.

[harleyclarkey]

My Ex trained in Wat Po in 2 types of massage (13k each for a Thai), did a nail course (15k) and got a job in an upmarket Spa on Soi 24 in Bkk.

She was paid 8k per month, got commission of 100 baht per massage and (I think) about 80 baht per nail job plus tips on top. She ended up mainly doing nails which takes about 30-40 minutes.

The owner totally forbade any extra services.

She told me of an Indian guy who believed there was going to be a happy ending and when the girl refused he actually walked out of the cubicle and went around to the other girls stark naked with his flag pole, for them to "take care". He was thrown out with his flag pole intact!

Back to salary...she took around 15-18k per week. Her best week was 22k. Seems real good money from what I see here but then the massage was 400-600 baht (back in 2007) and it was a really smart, flash Spa and a very busy place.

ps...as also said here already...I always go for a 30-40's woman. The young girls are useless and a waste of time. I tip 50 baht or a 100 if she is good. Does everybody tip??

Edited February 25, 2012 by harleyclarkey

[Asianrider]

nothing in Phuket is cheap !!

[Rickster]

nothing in Phuket is cheap !!

Kway teow in Kathu is !!!!

[Jimi007]

nothing in Phuket is cheap !!

Kway teow in Kathu is !!!!

Noodle soup is pretty cheap everywhere... Pretty poor transliteration though. Kuaitiao is a bit closer...

[Jimi007]

nothing in Phuket is cheap !!

Kway teow in Kathu is !!!!

Noodle soup is pretty cheap everywhere... Pretty poor transliteration though. Kuaitiao is a bit closer...

Not so smart yourself.........<flame removed>

http://www.google.co...7eB9iBQ&cad=rja

I think it's time for YOU to read the rules of this forum: http://www.thaivisa....tion=boardrules Your post just broke at least two! And what Thai language school are you attending? The school of bad transliteration: http://www.google.co...7eB9iBQ&cad=rja

Thai noodle soups are popular in street stalls, canteens and food courts. The noodles are served in a light (chicken) stock, often topped with meat or fish balls and coriander leaves. The diner then adjusts the flavour by themselves using sugar, nam pla (fish sauce), dried chilli and chilli in vinegar provided at the table. Unlike most other Thai food, noodles are eaten with chopsticks. Both noodles and chopsticks are clear Chinese influences. The word kuaitiao is a direct loan from Teochew.

• Bami nam (Thai: บะหมี่น้ำ) - egg wheat noodles in soup, often with minced pork, braised or roast duck, or cuts ofmu daeng (char siu)
  
• Kaeng chuet wunsen (Thai: แกงจืดวุ้นเส้น) - glass noodles in soup
  
• Khanom chin kaeng khiao wan kai (Thai: ขนมจีนแกงเขียวหวานไก่) - Thai rice noodles served with chicken green curry
  
• Khao soi (Thai: ข้าวซอย) - rice or wheat noodles in a curry soup; a northern Thai dish
  
• Kuaitiao nam (Thai: ก๋วยเตี๋ยวน้ำ) - rice noodles in soup
  

Edited February 27, 2012 by metisdead
Inflammatory comment removed.

[Rickster]

And what Thai language school are you attending?

I don't speak Thai, I don't possess to speak Thai, i don't want to speak Thai......your barking up the wrong tree old son......see ya

[Jimi007]

And what Thai language school are you attending?

I don't speak Thai, I don't possess to speak Thai, i don't want to speak Thai......your barking up the wrong tree old son......see ya

Then why the post:

Not so smart yourself......... <snip>

Brilliant! By the way, you should maybe take an English class as well, since you don't know the difference between your and you're...

Edited February 27, 2012 by Jimi007

[thaiwanderer]

... Not that I ever even go, as my wife is certified in Thai massage. She learned from some of her friends ......

Lol, that does not sound like "certified" to me

My wife is spa trainer in one of the top-spa's on the island and she often gets new students who worked in these massage parlors. She started out there herself years ago. They learn the job from another massage lady who learned from another etc. They never had a proper training. Training time is limited to just a few hours and then it's time to earn money. Not like the top spa's where they go through 4 month of tough training, including theory. And if not good enough, they are out. The products (eg oil) used in the cheap parlors are quite often of debatable quality (cheap cheap) and may be harmful to your skin if used often.

Find the massage parlors used by the locals and stay away from any of those tourist traps in the main areas... They more often than not, have no clue what they are doing. It may feel relaxing, but a proper massage? Nope. 300 baht is still a bargain, but you get what you pay for

So the locals use the non-tourist trap top spas then?

[RedCardinal]

Unfortunately so. Not sure where you get your info from, but I can say with some conviction that the figures I gave are quite real in the businesses I know of.

[cgphuket]

I agree the price is still good. Most girls get 100 baht commission on a 300 baht massage. that's about $3 an hour to touch some of these disgusting tourist bodies. Not to mention that they may only get 1-3 clients a day. When you are happy making less than $6-$9 a day I will have sympathy for you.

[simonphuket]

Back to salary...she took around 15-18k per week. Her best week was 22k. Seems real good money from what I see here but then the massage was 400-600 baht (back in 2007) and it was a really smart, flash Spa and a very busy place.

That must be a busy spa.. wow!. Salary of 8k/month so 2k/week. Avg 18k/week so 16k/week on commissions. if 500 avg/massage and she would get half of it (unlikely), it means 64 massages/week, is about 11/day. Wow, she must be totally exhausted by the end of the day Lol, of course I am ignoring the tips hehe, still a busy job and awesome salary. I may work there myself! over 70k/month is more than most English teachers or all scuba instructors make, kinda double their income.... but ehh, no happy finish from me